The Other Man
by Mrs Dizzy
Summary: A conversation between Lisbon and Jane regarding changes at the CBI. SPOILERISH, I guess, as I based this on stuff I read online about season two of the show.
1. The Other Man

**The Other Man**

Teresa Lisbon was tired of Patrick Jane acting like a petulant child. She didn't need this. Not now. Especially not now. Not with Sam Bosco in her life again.

And when had _Red John _become her life, she wondered, studying the thunderous look on Jane's face. She really did not need this. She closed her eyes and the pounding in her right temple she'd been able to ignore all day intensified. There was a momentary sense of panic, something she'd been experiencing since the Hardy case and she quickly opened her eyes again.

Jane's face had softened with concern and she hated him for knowing her too well. And not well enough. Because if he did, he'd know that she didn't need this kind of attitude from him. He'd know that she was just as upset about the CBI's decision as he was.

But directives were directives and sometimes, the only right thing to do was to let go.

„He's not the enemy, Jane."

He looked away from her, out the window and she thought he looked like a five-year old boy ashamed to admit that he'd done something wrong.

"I know," he said, a hint of irritation lacing his words.

"It makes sense that Bosco's taking over the case."

"But it's your case." He looked like he was going to stomp his foot.

Raising an eyebrow, she archly asked "My case?"

This time he looked at her, right into her eyes, "Your case."

How often had she been in this position?

"Don't do this Jane."

He leaned forward and she became acutely aware of his heat, his presence.

Gentle voice, disarming smile, "What am I doing?"

"Oh, you know exactly what. Don't you dare use that manipulative crap on me. Not with Red John." She could feel her face flush with heat, her heart pounding. She was scared of how angry she felt right now. It didn't use to be like this.

Jane studied her and maybe because of the adrenaline rush, she saw him more clearly. The way he hid his annoyance – or was it rage? – behind a polite, inoffensive mask.

He casually sat back and just as casually answered her, "I'm sorry, but you know how I feel about him."

"And you know how I feel about that," she managed to say, afraid of the emotions battling inside of her. She looked away, surprised that she felt out of breath.

She mentally ordered herself to calm down, take long breaths. She was grateful that Jane wasn't offering any comment, knowing full well that he could see the turmoil inside of her. She could hope on hiding her feelings from him on good days, but the stress of the last few weeks were getting to her and she was tired of pretending.

She could remember why she kept such a close guard on her heart, but had forgotten how to do it. She wondered if he had found a way in or if she had let him in. Either way, Jane had too strong a hold on her.

"But to take Red John away from you…because of…" he eventually said. Cajoling, appealing to the ego in her. Yes, if she let him, he'd find all the right buttons to push.

Feeling steadier now, the momentary lapse into an unknown self – one that had surfaced more and more often lately - mastered, she looked at him with the old familiar confidence.

"It's the right thing to do, Jane. If I were more objective about this case, I'd have done this a long time ago."

Again, just the tiniest flicker of some deeper emotion behind that genial mask, "So, you're giving up?"

His words had come out sharper than she expected they would. Maybe he's not such a master of his own emotions. It was comforting to her.

"No one's giving up, Jane. We're just doing what's best for the case," she explained, hating the soft pleading that had crept into her voice. She compromised too much with this man, without really enjoying the benefits.

To her surprise, he shrugged his shoulders, "Okay, I might as well quit the CBI now."

Impatience made it's way to the surface and she scowled at him, "You're not going to."

He just gave her a determined nod, challenging her. She never backed down from a challenge. He should know that.

"You're not." Forceful, authoritative. She knew _him_ well enough.

Sceptical, curious. He was clearly amused by her assertion, "And what makes you so sure?"

"Because you like being on the inside."

Again, that look from him. She knew he was baiting her, but it felt good for once to be the one to tell him what he was about.

"You know that if you quit the CBI you'll lose all access to the privileged information we have."

He opened his mouth to say something but Lisbon cut him off.

"Don't you dare _meh_ me. It's the reason why you agreed to consult in the first place. You knew that as a civilian you'd have less chance of catching this monster than if you worked for the CBI. We use your skills and you get access to our resources. It's a win-win for you. You get to entertain yourself with a few cases here and there, while we wait for Red John to fall into our hands. And when he – or she – does, you get to do what you've always planned to do."

It was the sadness she glimpsed in him from time to time that did it to her. The emptiness, the loneliness. Like right now. If she'd known the havoc Patrick Jane would create in her emotionally, would she still have agreed for him to be part of her team that fateful day Minelli had told her he'd be joining it?

He was looking out of the window again and she was unfamiliar with a Jane who avoided looking straight into her eyes. There was a dejected air about him.

This is what he did to her – tugging at her heartstrings, rousing the maternal side of her. Too tired to ignore it, she offered him a consolation.

"Bosco's a good agent. I know."

"Of course you do." He did not look at her and she was glad that he could not see her unchecked reaction to his almost snide remark. Or maybe it was just her own residual – unresolved – feelings about Sam Bosco that tinged his comment with cruelty.

"That's unfair, Jane," she said, reacting from the hurt.

"I know. I'm sorry." He still did not look at her and the anger she was getting familiar with welled up again.

"I've fought for you, even though I knew - I know – if given the chance you'll betray my trust."

He looked at her, hurt. "Now y_ou're_ being unfair."

"Am I? Things haven't changed regarding Red John. I'm no fool Jane. What I want to believe and what I think is going to happen – they're two separate things and I can accept the difference. But it doesn't mean I have to."

"I'm sorry."

She was getting sick and tired of hearing that from him.

"I'm sorry too."

The defeated way she said that was like a vacuum, sucking out all the strange energy out of the room, leaving it with a strangely comforting silence.

'This isn't healthy,' she thought, feeling like she'd lost a battle she didn't ask to be a part of. She doubted if she would survive the war.

But in true Jane fashion, he found a way to make light of a dark situation he'd caused in the first place.

"So why are you keeping me around?" he asked, that teasing grin back on his face.

And like always, she was helpless to resist when he was this way. "The simple answer? It's easier to keep an eye on you."

He chuckled and she distrusted the easy way he infused it with warmth.

"Charmed you that much, huh?"

Irritated at how well he did this, she peevishly said "This is not the time to be cute, Jane."

Shrugging his shoulders apologetically, giving her that look that haunted her dreams sometimes, he replied, "I know."

She hated how cliché female she reacted to him. She did not want to smile in response, unable to keep her mouth from twitching.

This definitely wasn't healthy, she reminded herself.

"I think Bosco taking over the Red John case is going to be good for us," she said, to keep herself from smiling

Jane raised his eyebrows, "How so? I get the distinct impression that the man doesn't like me."

If the scene earlier between the two men was any indication of how things were going to be in the near future, then she wanted to be far away on a remote island where no one could reach her. She knew Sam Bosco and she knew Patrick Jane and what she knew about the two of them, backing down wasn't something they were really good at.

"Senior Agent Bosco isn't as accomodating of your – _ways_ - as I am."

He widened his eyes innocently, "You mean he doesn't suffer fools gladly?"

She could resist, "You're admitting you're a fool?"

He laughed appreciatively, "Touche."

It wasn't going to be easy working with Bosco again so closely – at least for the handover period. Bureau protocol had strict guidelines regarding these things. The administrative part of it, Lisbon could handle. The personnel aspect of it – dealing with Bosco in person was unavoidable – she'd rather forgo.

History aside, and there was enough between the two, Lisbon was going to do her best to help Agent Bosco continue the work on capturing their serial killer. It's what a good cop did and the citizens of California – especially Jane – deserved nothing less from her.

"Maybe he's going to have the perspective that we no longer have," she said, confident that if Bosco was going to leave personal issues aside – something she wasn't so sure of – he'd be the perfect person to take over the Red John case.

"Do you think so?" Jane asked, a curious look on his face.

She nodded, "I know what he's capable of." Jane smirked, a juvenile reaction, reminding her of her brothers when they were teenagers.

Rolling her eyes, she scoffed, "Oh grow up."

He snickered, unashamedly. 'Why do you want children, when you have Jane?' flitted through her mind, a random thought she wasn't entirely comfortable with.

She truly couldn't help herself, she smiled at him fondly.

He sighed dramatically, "Fine. I'll try and get to terms with Bosco being in charge of the Red John case."

Her smile widened, "Thank you." But she saw the mischief in his eyes.

"Doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Jane," she said, warningly. She did not have the energy for this.

"Doesn't mean I have to like _him_."

A random quote from one of the few episodes she saw of 'Six Feet Under' popped into her head and she had to refrain herself from saying it out loud. It was inappropriate – even if it was appropriate for the situation.

Trying not to conjure up the mental image of Bosco and Jane following that particular suggestion, she put on a stern face and scolded him, "You're not in kindergarten, Jane."

"Be sure to remind Bosco of that as well."

"You're not going to make this easy, are you?" she groaned.

Jane grinned, "Not if I don't have to."

'This is going to get ugly,' she thought.


	2. Epilogue

_Epilogue_

Patrick Jane slammed the door of his car, letting himself feel the frustration and anger that he'd kept in check all day.

He had tried to play according to Lisbon's rules – as a courtesy to her, he owed her that much – but Sam Bosco was getting on his nerves.

It wasn't the openly antagonistic way the senior agent behaved towards him – Jane could understand it. He did try to provoke the man whenever he could. It wasn't even that Bosco was now in charge of the Red John case – Jane wasn't okay with it nor did he think Bosco was absolutely the best person for the case. But Jane was a resourceful guy and he knew he could work around that.

The thing that brought out the unexplained, instant and complete dislike of Sam Bosco in Jane was the way Sam Bosco treated Teresa Lisbon and the way Teresa Lisbon was around Sam Bosco.

Jane was knew that there was history between the two – Lisbon was too by the books that she could _not _not give the team full disclosure on the nature of the relationship between her and Bosco. Except full disclosure meant that she only told that them the man had been her mentor and that they'd had 'a personal relationship outside the CBI'.

It didn't take a mentalist to see that there were unresolved feelings about their 'personal relationship outside the CBI'.

In truth, Jane would have never thought that Lisbon would allow herself to have something with a co-worker, especially one who was senior to her. So it made him wonder – more so than usual – what it was about Sam Bosco that made Lisbon even think about a relationship with him. Was it his integrity, his sense of responsibility? Was it the authority figure? The father role?

Maybe because Jane actually liked his boss – admired her for her strengths and her weaknesses – his subconscious had formed an idea of her, embarrassingly romantic, of someone who needed more than just dependability and stability in a partner. Humor, a sense of fun and adventure. Passion. He knew he was biased, but he did not see these qualities in Sam Bosco.

So why was Teresa Lisbon still hung-up about him? And what did happen in their relationship that it ended? Whatever it was, it wasn't good, judging by the way Lisbon tensed up whenever she was around Bosco. And that is what upset him, really.

Why did she let Bosco affect her that much? Jane had asked her, unable to contain his curiosity. Her answer that it was because of the Red John case had been a lie. A partial one, but a lie nonetheless.

And why was _he_ upset? He did not have the reason nor the right to be.

He walked over to his mailbox, reaching for the handful of letters. He'd been staying at motels lately, unable to deal with the emotions his house stirred in him and the unwanted changes at the CBI. But if he really thought about it, he'd been avoiding this place as much as possible ever since he'd shot Hardy. Guilt, but a different kind had kept him from here. But tonight, he needed to remind himself why he was still alive. It was going to keep him from doing anything stupid about Sam Bosco.

He briefly sorted through the bills and junk mail, to stop at a white folded piece of paper.

His heart stopped and he could see his hands begin to shake. He didn't need to open the letter to know who it was from. He did not want to open the letter, the memory of the last time he'd found a missive from him eternally burned in his mind. But his hands worked of their own accord and his eyes scanned the words.

_Dear mister Jane_

_You're so vain, you probably think my art is about you._

_Let's just say, playing with you is much more fun than I thought it would be._

_Pity that you're no longer on the team playing against me._

_But I'm sure we can schedule something. Maybe Teresa Lisbon would like to join us?_

_Your friend,_

How could such a friendly smile look so grotesque?

A wordless 'No' escaped Jane's lips.


End file.
